Scapegoat

Scapegoat

Noun / verb · /ˈskeɪpɡəʊt/ · a person or group blamed for the faults or misfortunes of others

Definition

A scapegoat is a person, group, or entity that is held responsible for problems, failures, or wrongdoing that are actually caused by others. The scapegoat is typically chosen because they are convenient, visible, or vulnerable — not because they are genuinely responsible. As a verb, to scapegoat means to make someone a scapegoat: to blame them unfairly in order to divert attention from the real cause or the real culprits. The practice of scapegoating is found at every level of human society — in families, organisations, politics, and international relations.

Origin

Scapegoat is one of the most remarkable etymological stories in the English language. It was coined by the translator William Tyndale in 1530 when he was producing an English translation of the Bible. In the Book of Leviticus, the ancient Hebrew rite of Yom Kippur involved the high priest symbolically placing the sins of the community upon a live goat, which was then sent into the wilderness to carry those sins away. The Hebrew term azazel was interpreted by Tyndale as meaning the goat that escapes — so he translated it as scape goat, from the word escape. Later scholars argued that azazel was actually the name of a desert demon, but Tyndale's coinage had already entered the language and has remained ever since.